New Tires and Alignment

[crosby1]

i need to replace the 4 tires on my '05 quest. the dealer says when 4 tires are replaced, an alignment is "required".

the car drives straight, and doesn't pull at all.

can i save the $$$ and go without an alignment?

thanks.

pietre.

[chubbybubba1]

The key here is: Do you see any abnormal wear on your current tires? If not, and your happy with the way the car steers like you say, then I'd skip the alignment. I have an 04' Quest and when I got new tires I didn't get an aligment. I've never had an alignment on it. 2 years later, and keeping them rotated, my new ones still are wearing fine. It's a good sell point for the dealer is all. If you truly need an alignment then fine, if not it's cash in their pocket.

[FixUrNissan]

Originally Posted by crosby1

i need to replace the 4 tires on my '05 quest. the dealer says when 4 tires are replaced, an alignment is "required".

the car drives straight, and doesn't pull at all.

can i save the $$$ and go without an alignment?

thanks.

pietre.

If you want to ensure your tire investment , the right thing to do is alignment . It could come back and bite you if the tires start to ware funny, then having to buy tires again then align. The right way is to align the vech

[chubbybubba1]

If you have no abnormal wear on the tires, your alignment is most likely well within manufacture's specs. Now, if your wife smacked a curb last week and your going to need tires soon anyhow, then sure, you should get an alignment by all means. If you drive a performance luxury machine and spent $1000 on tires, then yes you should. But why give a shop an hour of overpriced wages to put your vehicle on a rack and find your vehicle is within spec, and then have the tech put it a little better in spec. A total waste. For the most part, having to get an alignment when you buy tires is propoganda by the automotive repair industry. It's along the same crap they feed you that you need your rotors or drums turned every single time you install new pads. Every other time is fine as long as you don't drive like an Andretti. If at highway speed, you apply the brake and you get a steering wheel shimmy, have the rotors turned. If not, your good for another set a pads without a turn on them. I mean christ, they want to run a brake job bill over $300, $400, and $500! But you know, most people just do what other people tell them, the thing to do is..... Like I'm telling you right now. The difference is I'm not asking you to sign for an estimate, and leave your phone number in case we need to call you for more further authorizations. (Oh by the way, your rotors can't be turned anymore and a new front pair is $240.00!! What the F@uck!!

Under inflation / over inflation and lack of rotation is where your concern should be. and where you should direct attention and your money. That will protect your investment. Also a road hazard agreement for those repairs that can't be made on the tire is a good investment.

[FixUrNissan]

Chubby , your the reason we see most of the work we see , cause of the short thought of repairs and not the proper. It's like changing the oil and not the filter , type save a buck sound . First off this is a Nissan Quest, It's not a small car by any means. You said you owned one , so you know tires are not exactly cheap these days . If i were a customer and i have been , i would certainly want to make sure after i spend , lets say 150 to 170 bucks a tire that my alignment is good and i am not going to ware out these new tire prematurely. With other things in mind , I own a Quest also , and put 2 new tire on it right before the winter and i performed a alignment , and you know what the back was out , yet it tracked straight!! I also have peace of mind that everything is safe on the car being my wife and 2 kids ride in it all the time.

I want to make one last comment on your brake Description on what to do. It sounds like you like to do what ever you have to do to save money. Thats fine for you , do what you want . Advising people to Just pad slap is like saying driving on flat wont hurt the tire. When you get to a pad replacement time Throwing a set of pad on a already glazed rotor is not the smartest thing to do . The Point of resurfacing the front rotors when performing a brake job is so the fresh new pad has a fresh new surface , so when the pads hardens , the mating surface will have a better bond and there for prolong the life of your brake pads. By slapping a set of pads on to a already glazed surface, break application perform ace is now compromised. It's like a gamble. Think about it.. If there was no reason for cutting the rotors ,then why is it highly suggested?? It's not about the tech making the money , it's to ensure the customers safety after the work is performed. A Correct repair , it what it is called . Not half ass job. I have see plenty of pad slaps in my day and i always have to fix what someone though would save them a few bucks and ends up costing them double. The Xttera you drive requires different type of rotor resurfacing so it costs more. The rotors just don't knock off. The whole hub has to be taken apart , unless you have a on car break lathe.

I didn't appreciate the response to what i stated from you , so forgive me if you feel like i am attacking back .. These were simply my suggestion, What this person decides is Certainly there decision. You turned a 2 sentence response into paragraph . I take what do very seriously, sometimes maybe to much , but i believe in doing a job the right way, cause once you start trying to save a few bucks , you tend to let things go . Next thing you know you need 1k dollars work of work , that if you had took the extra step would have saved you .

I just had to vent about your post , as you can tell ..lol take care

[chubbybubba1]

I would never dream of changing the oil and not the filter. The filter media would be mush if you tried to prolong the life of a filter. The filtration qualities diminish with time, and it's only $10 for a good filter.

How many times can you tell me a tech puts a customers car on the alignment rack and says , "hey this alignment is within manufactures specs." Never. How many times after that did they get the car back to a customer and say "no charge, the alignment was within spec." They have to get paid for the time it took to find no adjustment is necessary. The tech won't get paid for the time spent and neither will the shop. You don't make money that way. So therefore, a customer always needs the alignment. Let's face it, that alignment rack was big bucks. And so is the shop overhead. That's why labor rates are so high. We are alking about an 04' Quest(mine), and an 05' Quest(thread starter). It would be reasonable to say that both cars probably have 35,000 miles each, ballpark. It would also be reasonable to say that no suspension components this early in the game would of prematurely failed, thus needing repair. So, the question is, why if the alignment is in spec, would additional adjustment be necessary? Why, after inspecting the current tires and seeing no abnormal wear, and knowing his driving habits and how he takes care of his car, would a person pay $70 for something he doesn't need? If after he gets the new tires and then a 1,000 miles later he hits a big pothole, or starts to notice abnormal wear, then be all means, he should get an alignment. That's money well spent. It's senselesss to continue to drive at that point because you will just scrub those tires away. It's about spending your hard earned money only when you need to spend it. Not on hype that has gone through the industry that one has to do this or has to do that. It's just general recomendations. Kinda like you have to change you oil every 3,000 miles or you can do damage to your engine. It's got people paranoid and they just fork over the cash. Most people are clueless when it comes to knowledge in this industry and can be easily taken in by needless services. They rely on a shop for repairs because they don't have the tools, space or time to get pro active and learn a thing or two.

Pad slapping. Those rotors sure look nice after they have been turned! If one has no steering wheel shimmy when applying the brake and it's time for pads, then it is perfectly OK to turn the rotors every other time. The brake caliper components should be inspected and hopefully just normal wear is noted. The new pads can be installed and should be properly burnised in. Burnish the pads is what Nissan recommends. But you say turning the rotor is to remove the glazing? No, turning the rotor is to remove any measurable grooving and to remove runout. The very definition of burnishing as Nissan recommends, is "to make smooth or glossy by or as if by rubbing; polish." There is no way if I drive my car and at any speed over 45 mph, I have no steering wheel shimmy, that turning the rotor is going to make the brake system safer. That turned rotor that didn't necessarily need it, is going to be burnished or as you put it "glazed" in a short time again anyway after being turned. It's about making the rotors last longer and not needing to buy new ones prematurely due to it being turned every single time no matter what. Or because as a customer, I'm advised that it's the thing to do. Now, I am a firm believer in buying Nissan original parts in most cases. Most certainly when it comes to the brake pads and hardware. But under normal braking patterns it is useless every time to turn a rotor. Now my father in law is a pad slapper and never turns his rotors. Those are the guys you love to have come in your shop. The bill is big. Shame on him.

[dtownfb]

First, you should look into the Yokohama Avid TRZ. I just saw where they are offering this tire in the OEM size. This tire is suppose to be far superior to the OEM goodyears for about the same price.

Second, get the wheel alignment or at the very least have them check the alignment. the quest is a big vehicle. I had it done when I replaced my tires.